Favour Fervour

Wow, I just realised my last wedding prep update was back in June. Six whole months gone — with nary an update! Tsk, tsk.

But fortunately that doesn’t mean we’ve been idling. In these six months, we’ve entrusted Ola Lola to doll up our gift trays, and booked a slot for our marriage preparation course with SuChi Success this coming January. That’s two less things to worry about, yay!

We’ve also been looking for tableware because the package we’re going to take with CJS includes only disposables (which Faz was initially ok with — are you crazy?!). To rent their tableware, it worked out to be $4/pax, which is ridiculous! We’re enquiring with a couple of companies, but until we sign a rental agreement, we think it would be better to hold off the booking for CJS first. And we can afford to do this only due to the fact that CJS is not so popular among Malay couples because it doesn’t cater traditional Malay fare. Many jaws have dropped upon hearing we haven’t secured a caterer yet. Relax, relax.

Another item on the checklist I’ve been spending a considerable amount of time working on is getting quotes for wedding favours.

It was clear we had to take matters into our own hands after looking at the options available in local favour stores online. The favours are all so cookie-cutter meh. While largely acceptable/presentable, they don’t make much of an impression.

Anyway to cut the story short, we’ve narrowed our options down to two items: loose tea leaves or honey.

Either of these would go so well with the theme of our wedding decor, which we decided is something along the lines of “The Enchanted Forest”. For this, Najihah picked out a palette of greens and antique gold, with accompanying pastel colours. I was practically hyperventilating when she presented the proposal to us!

I like this! The wooden dipper really completes the look, doesn’t it?Source: The Knot

A simpler version with a piece of burlap over the cap with a tag secured to it.Source: Creative Chatter

Loose Tea Leaves

Not sure about how the loose tea leaves will hold in the muslin bag, exposed to air. You can’t see the contents either. Probably not such a good idea, but does look cute!Source: ideachic on Etsy

Or you could put them in glass jars like these. Just had to LOL at the tag. Get Teapsy! Hahaha!Source: Quiet Like Horses

Now, this, is my ultimate favourite! Can’t find a justification for putting loose tea leaves in a test tube…does working in healthcare count? Not everything has to have a rationale right?Source: The SoHo

This one looks less like a test tube. An alternative we can adopt, perhaps!Source: HGTV

I’m leaning more towards the loose tea idea because a tube of tea leaves feels more solid in the hand than a small 30g or 40g jar of honey. If we were to pick loose tea, we’re thinking to have fruit tisanes (tea leaves with infusions of dried fruit) because it’s more colourful and looks more appealing.

I’ve gotten a couple of quotes for both the honey and tea. I’ve yet to taste them myself, so I foresee this quest is going to take a while. In the end though, I guess the determining factor will be the price.

While we’re on the topic of favours, I thought I’d just put it out there: although I am largely impartial to the favours I receive as a guest to weddings, let’s admit it: there are some that are a little cringe-worthy.

Although your wedding day is all about you, do spare some thought about the recipients before you go ahead and do something so shamelessly narcissistic like print your names bound in a large heart on, say, the mugs you’re about to give as favours. Or worse — print your photo on them!

Personally, I think it’s creepy to be drinking from a mug with another couple’s names or photos on it. I don’t believe we have that kind of a relationship (even if we’re good friends) for me to be drinking from such a mug. Think about it. What if the recipient is someone you’re not even close to? The names and photos on the mug will be meaningless, and what is he to do with the mug then? Well, he might be compelled to use it if one day by some strange force of nature he woke up to find all his other mugs in pieces on the kitchen floor and yours was the only one that escaped unscathed (if I were him I would be really freaked out at this point, by the way). But until that happens, chances are your mug will be banished to the gallows (read: your store room).

But that’s just me. For some people, a mug is a mug is a mug. I, on the other hand, just find it really weird to be drinking from a mug with another couple’s name on it….IN A HEART! It’s like I’m defiling some sacred temple of love! Or like I’m some psychotic fan of your undying love for each other (think die-hard Edward and Bella fans, and how they would probably slit their wrists if Stephenie Meyer had decided to split them up at the end).

I get that you want to leave your mark, but couldn’t it have been done in a less narcissistic way that adds value to the mug for the recipient? Maybe the mug can have a nice design on it so that people wouldn’t mind actually using it, and your names can still appear but in a less obvious manner — like in smaller font or in a less conspicuous spot on the mug.